Santa Rosa, CA. Judge’s Final Ruling Goes Against Wal-Mart Superstore
A vaguely written proposal has cost Wal-Mart a multi-million land use deal. On September 1, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that a judge in Sonoma County, California had dealt Wal-Mart a blow in its quest to build a superstore in Santa Rosa, California.
This community is used to big box battles, having fought off a Home Depot in 1999 that tried to destroy a mobile home park. On August 29th the court agreed with anti-Wal-Mart residents that the environmental review done for the southwest Santa Rosa location was flawed. The lawsuit was brought by five Santa Rosa residents in 2007, seeking to overturn the 2006 approval of the Wal-Mart in the Roseland neighborhood of the city. During the hearings on the project, residents criticized Wal-Mart’s “predatory business and labor practices,” its low pay and employee benefits, and its impact on other businesses in Santa Rosa. Judge Robert Boyd said the study of parking and noise from the project were “especially problematic.”
During the court hearing on August 29th, the city and opponents argued over the number of parking spaces, and the issue of noise impacts on abutting homes. The city said the store was 106,00 s.f., but the documents filed with the project ranged from 210,000 s.f. to 198,000 s.f. “What you’re seeing is a constantly changing project description,” said Attorney William Kopper, the lawyer for the Santa Rosa plaintiffs. Attorney Kopper has represented Wal-Mart opponents in at least half a dozen cities in California. The city described the lawsuit as being “a case which is about trivialities.” On the issue of noise, Wal-Mart told the court that there would be no noise higher than 45 decibels emanating from the store’s operations. “That’s what most people in Santa Rosa enjoy inside their homes,” Wal-Mart’s attorney said. Kopper countered that the forklifts and diesel delivery trucks would exceed those levels and be a problem for residents living in the adjacent Casa Del Sol town homes.
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Posted by Al Norman on Tuesday, October 14 | 0 comments | Permalink
CALIFORNIA SITE FIGHT: PRO-WAL-MART GROUP GETS $150,000 DONATION FROM WAL-MART
Pro-Wal-Mart group pulls ahead with $150K from retailer [San Luis Obispo Tribune (Calif.)]
The political action group seeking to defeat a ballot initiative that would limit big-box stores in Atascadero has raised significantly more money than the group behind the proposed law, thanks to a $150,000 donation from Wal-Mart.
The Atascadero Consumers for Choice, No on Measure D-08 committee, has raised $188,193 — $177,421 more than the group trying to pass the measure, according to campaign finance reports filed late last month. The Yes on Measure D-08/Save Atascadero, sponsored by Oppose Wal-Mart, has raised $10,772.
Measure D-08, also called the Atascadero Shield Initiative, is the first citizen-initiated petition in Atascadero to be placed on the ballot in more than a decade. It goes before voters Nov. 4.
The initiative would ban any store of more than 150,000 square feet and restrict stores of more than 90,000 square feet from devoting 5 percent or more of their space to groceries.
It does not mention Wal-Mart by name. But by limiting the amount of floor space a large store could devote to selling groceries, it would block the retail store’s pending application to build a Supercenter at Del Rio Road and El Camino Real.
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Posted by Luke West on Tuesday, October 14 | 0 comments | Permalink
CALIFORNIA SITE FIGHT: WAL-MART A MAJOR ISSUE IN POWAY CITY ELECTION
Finances, Wal-Mart expansion top issues [San Diego Union-Tribune (Calif.)]
POWAY – When an incumbent runs for re-election to the Poway City Council, the smart bet would be on him or her. Only twice in the 28-year history of the city has an incumbent lost.
There is nothing to suggest that trend will end this election cycle, when four people are running for two open seats.
Longtime Poway Councilman Bob Emery, who has served since the city’s incorporation in 1980, is retiring.
Incumbent Merrilee Boyack is seeking a second four-year term, and the three men who share the ballot with her all agree her seat is safe.
Incumbents have a huge advantage, they say, and Boyack by all appearances has been a hard working and popular caretaker for the city.
So the race comes down to three people vying to fill Emery’s seat.
The main issues in Poway are the same as in many cities right now. The economy is tanking. All the candidates agree that the city has been well run and that financial stability and maintaining the quality of life in the city of 52,000 are paramount.
Perhaps the most controversial issue on the horizon is the proposed expansion of the Wal-Mart on Community Road into a “super center.” The plans, which probably will go before the council late next year, have angered some residents who worry about the traffic a bigger Wal-Mart would create, as people from Ramona, Scripps Ranch and Rancho Bernardo flock to the center of town to shop there.
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Posted by Luke West on Tuesday, October 14 | 0 comments | Permalink
Weekly Update for Elected Officials: Oct. 10, 2008
Check out this week’s issue of the Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials – a compilation of Wal-Mart news from across the country and beyond.
This week’s issue focuses on Wal-Mart and the current economic crisis. You’ll find stories on how Americans are shifting to thrift stores in order to save money, and whether September’s retail sales figures reflect a downturn in consumer spending. You’ll also find an article from CNN Money discussing whether the state of the economy will affect Wal-Mart’s hiring, especially with the holiday season coming up.
In addition to the economy, you’ll find stories on Wal-Mart’s move to small stores. Are Wal-Mart’s Marketside Stores the wave of the future? And in health care news, Wal-Mart is rolling out electronic personal health records to all of its employees, and has announced changes to its health plan for 2009.
And finally, check out our “Stateside” and “Wal-Mart International” sections to find out what’s going on with Wal-Mart around the country and across the globe.
Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials [October 10, 2008]
Posted by Corey Himrod on Friday, October 10 | 0 comments | Permalink
CALIFORNIA SITE FIGHT: MORE ON WAL-MART’S ENVIRONMENTAL REJECTION IN LODI
Lodi Planning Commission rejects Wal-Mart environmental report [The Record (Calif.)]
LODI – The Lodi Planning Commission voted 5-1 Wednesday night against certifying an Environmental Impact Report for a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter in West Lodi.
Community Development Director Rad Bartlam recommended approval of the EIR, saying it meets all the city’s specifications, but that wasn’t enough for commissioners who wanted to see further analysis on how a Supercenter could affect small businesses in Lodi, especially during tough economic times.
“My main concern is blight in existing buildings,” said Commissioner Randall Heinitz, who said he thinks a Supercenter that sells groceries could knock smaller grocers out of business, leaving storefronts vacant.
Commissioner Bill Cummins was the lone vote in favor of the project. Commissioner Tim Mattheis recused himself because his wife is an attorney for a group opposing Wal-Mart.
The Carnegie Forum was filled to its capacity with people in favor of, and in opposition of a Lodi Supercenter being built to replace the giant retailer’s current location on Kettleman Lane.
Posted by Luke West on Friday, October 10 | 0 comments | Permalink
CALIFORNIA SITE FIGHT: FORUM ON BIG BOX BAN IN ATASCADERO NEXT WEEK
In June, the Atascadero City Council decided to put a measure on the ballot asking voters to cap the square footage of big box stores. Measure D-08 would also cap grocery store space. The measure is also referred to as the “Shield Initiative.”
“It would stop the Wal-Mart that’s currently proposed, which is a Supercenter,” said Tom Comar, spokesperson for Oppose Wal-Mart and Vote Yes on Measure D-08.
“I think Atascadero needs to be more business-friendly to new businesses that need to come to our area to stimulate business,” said Atascadero business owner Kelly Long, a Wal-Mart supporter.
“Measure D-08 will cap the size of a big box store - 150,000 square feet - and stop a Supercenter, which has a grocery component. It doesn’t stop a Wal-Mart department store from coming in,” added Comar.
Also see: Letter: Welcome Wal-Mart [New Times (Calif.)]
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Posted by Luke West on Friday, October 10 | 0 comments | Permalink
CALIFORNIA SITE FIGHT: LODI PLANNING COMMISSION REJECTS WAL-MART’S ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
High tension at Lodi Wal-Mart meeting [Lodi News (Calif.)]
Tensions ran high at a meeting over five years in the making Wednesday night. When all was finished, the Wal-Mart corporation suffered a loss as the Lodi Planning Commission voted 5 to 1 (with commission member Tim Mattheis recusing himself) to deny the certification of the Final Revised Environmental Impact Report of the retail giant’s proposed Supercenter project.
Carnegie Forum was the scene of passionate discourse as a packed room of more than 100 people argued the pros and cons of the project. Most speaking to the Planning Commission voiced a dislike for Wal-Mart’s Supercenter proposal, with a smattering of those in favor of the project.
With the denial of the FREIR, the Wal-Mart project will more than likely face an appeal that would then take the report to the Lodi City Council for review.
The commission was presented with the revised impact report by Community Development Director Rad Bartlam and city staff with a recommendation to certify the EIR, basically giving the project a “go” status. The Wal-Mart Supercenter, which would essentially develop 40 acres on the southwest corner of Lower Sacramento Road and Kettleman Lane, would occupy 340,000 square feet. Twelve additional business spaces would occupy the remaining areas.
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Posted by Luke West on Thursday, October 09 | 0 comments | Permalink
CALIFORNIA SITE FIGHT: LEGAL VICTORY IN SANTA ROSA
Judge stops SR Wal-Mart project [Press Democrat (Calif.)]
A Sonoma County judge has overturned Santa Rosa’s approval of a Wal-Mart store planned for southwest Santa Rosa, concluding an environmental study of the project is flawed.
The decision by Superior Court Judge Robert Boyd will delay the project indefinitely, said William Kopper, attorney for a coalition of residents and workers opposed to the retail center.
The city and Wal-Mart will have to prepare a new environmental impact report before the development can move forward, Kopper said.
“They would have to be much more specific,” Kopper said.
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Posted by Luke West on Thursday, October 09 | 0 comments | Permalink
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